By Albert Allotey
Accra, April 15, GNA – The 56th Annual General Meeting and Engineering Conference has called on the government to treat Ghana’s food security challenge as an engineering priority that requires structured national response and action.
The conference said engineering must take the centre stage of Ghana’s agricultural transformation and that for too long it had been treated as a support function within agriculture.
“That approach is no longer sufficient because engineering is the enabler that connects production to markets, innovation to impact, and policy to measurable results,” it pointed out.
The conference said, “Food security remains one of the most critical challenges confronting our nation. Across the country, we continue to face significant post-harvest losses, limited mechanization, infrastructure gaps, and increasing climate variability.
“Inefficiencies in storage, transportation, and processing further compound the situation.”
It stressed, “These are not isolated agricultural problems; they are systemic challenges that require deliberate and coordinated engineering solutions.”
The call was made in a communique presented at a media briefing by Mr Ludwig Annang Hesse, President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering in Accra on the outcome of the meeting.
The 56th Annual General Meeting and Engineering Conference was held in Ho, Volta Region from March 16 to 20, 2026 on the theme “Engineering the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Value Chain.”
It aimed at helping to secure Ghana’s food systems, strengthen agricultural value chains, and build a resilient, self-sufficient economy.
The communique urged the Government to accelerate investment in irrigation systems to enable all-year farming and reduce dependence on rainfall.
“The agriculture sector must shift to mechanization, technology and data driven production systems, and must be supported by the necessary incentives and support programmes by the government,” it stated.
It said road infrastructure must be improved to ensure efficient transportation of farm produce to markets and processing centres.
“There must be major investment in post-harvest systems, including storage, cold chains, and agro-processing, to reduce losses and boost value addition.”
The communique said renewable energy solutions should be deployed at scale to power irrigation, storage, and agro-industrial activities and that the country must adopt data-driven and precision agriculture, backed by national systems for soil, climate, and water data.
It called for the strengthening of research, local innovation, and circular economic solutions to transform waste into energy, fertilizer, and other useful inputs.
“Government should implement policy reforms and innovative financing, including land tenure security and stronger public-private partnerships,” it urged
It added, “We must invest in people, especially the youth and women, to develop the appropriate skills in engineering, science, technology and agri-buisness.”
Mr Hesse stated that, “As the Ghana Institution of Engineering, we are committed to ensuring that the outcomes of this conference translate into tangible results.
“We will continue to provide technical leadership, deepen engagement with government and industry, and champion engineering solutions that address national development priorities,” adding, “Our focus will remain on driving implementation and delivering impact.”
Dr Lucy Agyepong, Chair of the GhIE Conferences and Programmes Committee in a welcoming address said the GhIE was established in 1968 and cover all disciplines in engineering to uphold high standard of professionalism, ethics and commitment.
“We work closely with government, academia, and industry to provide technical innovation on national issues, while supporting industrial development and advanced innovation,” she stated.
She explained that it was on the above mandate they convened this year’s conference on the theme, “Engineering the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Value Chain.”
It brought together engineers, policy-makers industry leadership, among other professionals.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba